Container closure



y 4, 1957 F. G. THOMAS CONTAINER CLOSURE- Filed July 5. 1955 FIG. 4.

FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. I FRED G. THOMAS ATTORNEY This invention relates to container closures, and more particularly to spring biased closures for collapsible tubes or squeeze bottles operable by pressure of the contents of the container.

Devices heretofore proposed for this purpose have not been satisfactory for various reasons, such as bulky and unwieldy construction, requiring insertion from the filler end of the container and impeding the discharge of the contents. When made of metal they have been subject to corrosion and puncturing of the container.

The main objects of the present invention are to avoid these difficulties, and to provide a non-metallic springbiased closure of simple construction insertable from the cap end of the container, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes set forth.

According to the present invention, the container closure comp-rises a hollow plug having a bottom inlet and a side outlet, and resilient wings extending laterally from the bottom of said plug on respective opposite sides of said inlet, the wings being contractible to within the confines or circumference of the container outlet to permit insertion of the plug therewithin, whereby the wings snap apart outwardly and upwardly into engagement with the inside of the container.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a collapsible container provided with a container closure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1 partly in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the closure in open position;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of Fig. 3, partly in section; and

Fig. 5 is a section through the closure in position to be inserted in the container.

The container C shown is a collapsible tube such as is customarily employed for tooth paste, shaving cream, and the like. The tube C is provided with a threaded neck N to receive the customary screw cap, and a top T flaring outwardly below the neck N. The tube is filled from the opposite end F which is crimped over to seal the contents therein.

The container closure comprises a plug having a head 12 and a stem 14 slidable in the bore of the neck N. The plug 10 has an inlet 16 in the bottom and an outlet 18 in the side, and an internal passage 20 leading up from the inlet 16 through the stem to the outlet 18.

At the bottom of the plug 10, resilient wings 22 extend laterally on respective opposite sides of the inlet 16. These wings preferably comprise strips 24 depending from the stem 14 from the bottom of which the wings 22 extend laterally and upwardly at an acute angle, forming a corner 25.

The wings 22 are necessarily resilient, and are preferably formed of an organic thermoplastic, such as nylon, rubber, or Celluloid. Other suitable organic thermoplastics are polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride and copolyied States Patent "ice mer, polyethylene, synthetic rubber modified polystyrenes, cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, and long chain polymeric amides.

In the form shown, the wings 22 are molded integrally with the plug 10, forming one piece of molded organic thermoplastic. The strips 24 being flat, bend inward readily so that the corners 25 clear the bore in the neck N when the wings 22 are bent down toward each other for insertion in the neck N.

The wings 22 are contractible to within the confines or circumference of the outlet in the neck N and insertable vertically downward therethrough to bring the outer cylindrical stem into vertically sliding engagement with the inside of the neck N until the head 12 engages the top of the neck N and the inside of the neck closes the outlet 18. This brings the wings 22 below the bottom of the neck N so that they snap outwardly and upwardly into engagement with the inside of the flaring top T of the container C.

The plug 10 is solid above the outlet 18 and below the head 12 to close the bore of the neck N above the outlet 18. Squeezing or collapsing the container C transmits pressure of the contents to raise the plug 10 to bring the outlet 18 above the top of the neck N against the leaf spring action of the wings 22 engaging the inside of the container. Release of this pressure permits the spring action of the wings 22 to retract the plug 10 to close the side outlet 18.

I claim:

1. Container closure for a container having a flaring top and a neck with an outlet bore, said closure comprising a hollow plug slidable .in said bore and having a bottom inlet and a side outlet, and resilient wings comprising flat strips no wider than the internal diameter of said neck outlet bore and integral with said plug on respective opposite sides thereof, said strips being spaced apart around the plug leaving free :areas of said plug at the spacing therebetween, said strips having corners below the level of said side outlet, and said strips extending laterally and diverging upwardly from said corners for a strip length greater than the distance from said inlet to said outlet, and forming cantilever leaf springs to terminally engage radially outer portions of the underside of said flaring top.

2. Container closure for a container having a flaring top and a neck with an outlet bore, said closure comprising a hollow plug slidable in said bore and having a bottom inlet and a side outlet, and resilient wings of a width less than the internal diameter of said neck outlet bore and integral with the bottom of said plug on opposite sides thereof and depending below said inlet to corners and extending laterally and upwardly from said corners at corresponding acute angles on respective opposite sides of said inlet, said wings being contractible to bring said corners within the confines of said neck outlet bore and insertable thereinto from the outside of the container, and automatically spreadable apart as the ends thereof escape out of the bottom of said neck outlet bore until said corners emerge therefrom and the ends of said wings snap upwardly into engagement with the inside of said flaring top with a cantilever spring action opposing the pressure of the contents of the contamer.

3. Container closure for a container having a flaring top and a neck with an outlet bore, said closure comprising a hollow resilient plastic plug slidable in said bore and having a bottom inlet and a side outlet, and resilient plastic wings molded integrally with said plug and comprising fiat strips no wider than the internal diameter of said neck outlet bore, said strips being spaced apart around the plug leaving free areas of said plug at the spacing therebetween, said strips having molded corners below the level of said side outlet, and said strips extending laterally and diverging upwardly from said corners for a strip length greater than the distance from said inlet to said outlet to form cantilever leaf springs for terminally engaging radially outer portions .of the underside of said flaring top.

4. Container closure for a container having a flaring top and a neck with an outlet bore, said closure comprising a plug slidable in said bore and having an irilet at the bottom and an outlet in the side, and resilient extensions on respective opposite sides of said inlet comprising flat strips having transverse folds forming angularly disposed wings extending laterally in opposite directions, said extensions being contractible without lateral compression to within the confines of the container outlet .bore to permit insertion of said plug therein, said Wings diverging .upwardly from said folds farther than the distance between said inlet and outlet whereby .the wings snap apart outwardly and upwardly into engagement with radially outer portions of the underside of said flaring top.

5. Container closure for a container having a neck with an outlet bore, said closure comprising a plug slidable in said bore and having an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the side, and respective resilient integral extensions on opposite sides of said inlet with flat contilever wings no wider than the internal diameter of said outlet bore extending laterally in opposite directions, said extensions being contractible to within the confines of said bore and insertable from the outside of the container vertically downward therethrough, whereby said wings being brought below the container neck snap outwardly and upwardly into engagement with the inside of the 'container.

6. Container closure for za-container having a neck with an outlet bore and a top flaring outwardly therefrom, said closure comprising an integral molded plastic plug having a stem slidable in said bore, said stem having an unobstructed inlet at the bottom and an internal passage leading therefrom up through the stem to an outlet in the side thereof, and integral resilient plastic extensions .depending from said stern .on opposite sides of said unobstructed bottom opening in spaced relation around said stem leaving free areas of said stern therebetween, said depending extensions havingtransverse folds formingfiat cantilever wings extending laterally in opposite directions, said extensions being contractible by bending towardzeach other to within the confines of the container outlet bore to permit insertion of the stem therein to bring the wings below the bottom of the bore, whereby the wings snap apart outwardly and upwardly away from each other into engagement with the inside of the flaring top of the con tainer.

7. Container closure operable by pressure of the contents of a collapsible or squeeze container having a neck with an outlet bore, the top of said container flaring outwardly and downwardly from said neck, said closure comprising an integral molded plastic hollow plug, said plug having a head of greater width than the diameter of said outlet bore, and a stern depending from said head having a cylindrical outer surface of greater depth than the height of said neck, said stern having an unobstructed inlet at the bottom and an outlet in the side of the cylindrical outer surface thereof and in the excess depth thereof below said head, said stem having walls defining an internal passage leading from said unobstructed bottom inlet up through the stem to saidoutletin the side of said cylindrical surface, the walls of said stem on opposite sides of said unobstructed bottom opening having integral depending extensions comprising vertical strips with wings extending laterally in opposite directions from the bottoms of said strips, said extensions being contractible to within the confines .of the container outlet and insertable vertically downward therethrough to bring the outer cylindrical surface of .said stem into vertically sliding engagement with said cylindrical container outlet surface until the head .of theplug engages the container neck and the outlet bore closes said plug stem side outlet, whereby said wings being brought below the container outlet snap outwardly and upwardly into engagement with the inside of the flaring top ,of the container, said plug being solid above said side outlet and below said head to close the container outlet boreabove said plug side outlet, whereby squeezing or collapsing of the container transmits pres- .sure of the contents to raise said plug to bring its side outlet above the top .of the container neck against the leaf spring action of said extensions engaging inside said container., and whereby release of said pressure permits the spring action of said extensions to retract said plug to close said side outlet.

References'Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 218,698 Beardsley Aug. 19, 1879 1,151,224 Smith Aug. 24, 1915 1,437,249 Kalb Nov. 28, 1922 1,567,084 Rose Dec. 29, 1925 1,859,382 .Cruze May 24, 1932 1,940,719 Le Blanc Dec. 26, 1933 1,941,727 Wilcox Jan. 2, 1934 2,528,993 Beach Nov. 7, 1950 2,596,592 Parker May 13, 1952 

